Isle of the Dead (Rachmaninoff)

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For other uses, see Isle of the Dead (disambiguation).

Isle of the Dead is a symphonic poem by Sergei Rachmaninoff. The composer was inspired by a painting Isle of the Dead by Arnold Böcklin which he saw in Paris in 1907. Rachmaninoff concluded the composition, a classic example of Russian late Romanticism of the beginning of the 20th century, while staying in Dresden in 1908.^{[citation needed]}

The music begins by suggesting the sound of the oars of Charon as they meet the waters of the river Styx. The Dies Irae theme, which occurs in many of Rachmaninoff's works, appears here as well.

Rachmaninoff uses a recurring figure in 5/8 time to depict what may be the rowing of the oarsman or the movement of the water, and as in several other of his works, quotes the Dies Irae plainchant, an allusion to death. The piece is approximately 21 minutes in duration.